Tag Archives: PSE&G

There are reports this week of Pascack Valley residents receiving telephone calls from individuals purporting to offer PSE&G customers a reduced rate on energy costs through PSE&G.

The scammers ask you to get a copy of your bill and a pen and paper so that the scammer can verify your account information.

The scammers are likely using a device to hide their true phone number/location from caller ID. One scammer phone number is reportedly “201-351-7851” out of “Hackensack, NJ.” However, this number, when called, results in immediate disconnection. The calls may originate out of Union City, NJ, or some other location. Note: a reverse lookup on whitepages.com indicates that this number is a Peerless Network landline from Boundbrook, NJ with a spam score of 4 out of 10. Others across the internet are reporting this number as spam.

Reports indicate that all scammer telephone agents speak with a heavy (Asian) Indian accent.

It is unlikely that Pascack Valley residents/PSE&G customers will benefit from giving any account information to these scammers. Proceed at your own risk.

Update 8/8/13: to avoid these calls, you may want to add the following numbers to your blocked callers list:

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The first snowfall of winter is currently falling on the Pascack Valley, and boy is it a doozie.

Break out the puffy coats and boots because huge flakes of snow are hitting the ground–and it’s sticking.

Oh, and you might want to get the generators ready. As of 1:40 pm today, reports of power outages across Westwood have been received. As we all know, PSE&G sucks, and this weekend you are literally likely to be left out in the cold!!!

Residents who are still reeling from hurricane Irene are fed up with the nonsense, and traffic nightmares abound as major intersections are without power to run traffic lights. Stay off the roads!

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Luckily, the regional headquarters of mrwestwood.com has been replete with electricity for the duration, and aftermath, of hurricane Irene. However, as early as 8am this morning, numerous neighborhoods throughout Westwood, and throughout the Pascack Valley, have experienced extended electricity outages.

This sent many people in low-lying areas scrambling for generators to power the sump pumps to keep their homes from flooding. Eleven hours later, electricity still has not been restored.

There were no significant reports of high winds in the region overnight, yet PSE&G couldn’t do the most important thing it is charged with doing–keep the electricity flowing.

Do you live in a neighborhood which lost power today? Does your neighborhood have those useless solar panels flying high on the poles? We had a sunny afternoon in Westwood. Why wasn’t the solar panel sending power to your home? Because PSE&G’s solar panels do nothing.

For all of you who fell prey to PSE&G’s public disservice today, we will use a bit of our own electricity to send out a message on your behalf:

It didn’t take long to notice the numerous solar panels that have recently sprung up all along southern and eastern sections of Kinderkamack and Old Hook Roads, respectively, in Westwood. There are a number of them on Bergenline Avenue as well.

Solar Panel in Westwood, avec bird crap.

These solar panels are installed by PSE&G and are supplied by a New Jersey company, Petro Solar. A review of the company’s documentation regarding its SunWave UP Series reveals some interesting aspects about its design.

The panels are designed to be mounted on utility poles at a minimum of 14 ft. from the ground, and at a 30 degree angle from horizontal. Each panel supplies secondary (transformed) power directly to an end-user or power consumer, such as a street light.

These units are not connected to the primary power distribution lines, so they do not supply power back to the grid for use elsewhere. These units do not contain a battery to store energy, so the power they generate is only available for immediate use at a limited distance from each panel. In other words, as power is generated by these solar panels, you must use it or lose it.

Still, not a bad idea to get one’s feet wet in sustainable, clean energy.

Only one problem. Most of the solar panels installed in Westwood appear to only be connected to street lights that are in use after dark. Since these solar panels have no battery to store energy generated during the day, they cannot supply any stored solar energy after dark.

This wouldn’t be an issue if the solor panels were connected to the primary power distribution lines. In this case, the solar panels could supply unused power to the grid during the daylight hours, only to be taken from the grid during the night. However, the company’s documentation specifically states that its product connects to secondary power lines, therefore it cannot supply (primary, untransformed) power back to the grid.

Another solution would be to tie the solar panel output into secondary power going into local homes for immediate use. However, evidence suggests that solar panel energy supply to Westwood homes was particularly avoided.

For example, the solar panel installed on the pole in front of 134 Kinderkamack Road is configured to supply power to a street light hundreds of feet away (at the northwest corner of Kinderkamack and Old Hook) rather than to the two homes across the street or to #134. By the way, the street light supplied by this solar panel is also redundantly tied into two other solar panels.

So, these solar panels are sitting there on a pole all day, generating electricity that can’t be used by street lights which aren’t turned on. When it’s dark, the street lights are powered by grid power (not solar power). The only difference is that a ton of money was (apparently) wasted on many (seemingly) useless solar panels.

Something is wrong with this picture, and for once it doesn’t look like the Borough of Westwood is to blame.

A series of phone calls to Petra Solar resulted in a number of disconnections and unanswered phones.